


worth it

by chanterie



Category: Dragon Age: Origins
Genre: Character Study, Gen, Minor Original Character(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-15
Updated: 2016-03-15
Packaged: 2018-05-26 19:41:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,741
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6253003
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chanterie/pseuds/chanterie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Circle at Kinloch Hold has been annulled, and so Dagna must find a new way to study magic. A tale told in snapshots.</p>
            </blockquote>





	worth it

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Cinnamongirl](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cinnamongirl/gifts).



> This is kind of AU by dint of Dagna actually leaving Orzammar after you tell her the Circle's been annulled. A story told in snapshots.

"I'm sorry," the Warden says, "But the Circle... it's been annulled. There are no more mages there."

Dagna can feel her face fall. No Circle? That can't be true. It's like the time she dropped her mother's favorite necklace on the floor and watched the fragile glass amulet shatter. It just can't be happening. "But--that won't last, right? When will they have new mages?"

The Warden exchanges a look with her companion and shrugs. "I don't know. I don't think the Chantry would want to send new blood to Ferelden when we're dealing with a Blight. If you want to study magic, you'll have to go somewhere other than Kinloch."

"I don't know much about the surface," Dagna says slowly. "But--you do, right? I mean, you're from there, of course you know a lot about the surface. Where are there other Circles? Can you get a message to them?"

The other Warden, the tall one, sighs and crosses his arms. "Honestly, there's not many places. And even if there were, I don't know that we--"

"Dairsmuid." The Warden cuts her companion off. "If there's any place where you'll have plenty of opportunity and freedom to study magic, it will be Dairsmuid. You might not even need a letter of introduction there, given how unorthodox it's supposed to be. It's... a ways away, though."

Hope kindles anew in Dagna's chest, even as the tall Warden squawks in protest. His partner ignores him and goes on. "If you give me some time--we have to go into the Deep Roads for a bit, but after--I can find you a way to Amaranthine and from there a ship that will take you to Rivain."

Dagna grins so wide her cheeks begin to ache. "I'll go start packing right now!"

Her elation doesn't diminish. Not when her father finds her half-packed bag and tries to confine her to the house. Not when the Wardens take longer in the Deep Roads than anyone thought they would. Not even when she stands before the gates of Orzammar and the Warden puts a hand on her shoulder.

"Are you ready for this?" the Warden asks. "All your goodbyes said?"

There's a letter for her father on the kitchen table. Dagna stopped by her favorite places yesterday to imprint them on her memory. She takes a deep breath, ignoring the apprehension twisting at her stomach, and nods. "I'm ready."

She doesn't look back.

* * *

Surface dwarves are _weird_. They keep ignoring her questions and looking at her strange when she asks what that kind of tree is, and is that berry bush poisonous, and--ooh!--what about that little furry thing? What's that called?

"It's better when they're worried about falling into the sky," she hears the caravan leader mutter under his breath to one of his fellows. All Dagna can think is _why would she be worried about that?_ Getting back down to the ground might be difficult, but if she fell into the sky she could see for herself what those fluffy white clouds are made of! That's the opposite of something to be worried about. The sky is  _amazing_.

She still thinks that when it starts to rain. A storm comes a week and a half after Dagna leaves Orzammar, and her tent-mate yells at her when she opens the flaps to watch the light show.

"You're letting all the blighted rain in! Shut the damn thing and go back to sleep!"

She closes the flaps. Most of the way, anyways. She leaves them open just a crack so she can peer out as she lays down. Lightning flashes across the sky, lighting it up almost as if it were daytime. It's so _bright_ ; it's brighter than the hottest forge fire she's ever seen, and it makes patterns like nearly-broken glass against her eyelids when she closes her eyes. It's one of the most beautiful things Dagna has ever seen.

Eventually, the sound of the rain pattering on the tarp overhead lulls her back to sleep. But the sight of clouds slamming into each other and sparking stays with her even longer.

* * *

Grainne Mac Eanraig is a grizzled old woman with steely grey hair and a burn scar that stretches across her face. Dagna likes her the moment she lays eyes on her. The sailor only gets better when she snorts at the letter Dagna hands over to her and turns a gimlet eye to her prospective passenger.

"Left everything behind for this, have you?" Grainne asks. "Good on you, girl. That'll get you more respect with the crew than my fool niece calling in a favor. We sail at dawn. Best stay on the ship overnight to try and get used to the sea before things get truly rough."

She expects it to be like rocks down lava flow--mostly steady and slow moving. She's very, very wrong. The ship tilts and turns with every wave they come across, and Dagna... Danga finds herself huddled against a wall in the crew quarters, heaving into a bucket. So much for seeing the sea while she's on it.

The captain comes down to see her when she has a moment and drapes a cool, wet cloth over Dagna's forehead. "Regretting this little venture yet, pup?" she asks.

"No. Of course not." Dagna's lower lip juts out stubbornly.

Grainne laughs. "It's alright if you do, you know. It's quite a thing you've done, and it'll get harder before it gets easier."

There's truth in that. It was hard to follow her curiosity when she first wanted to learn about magic. The books were near impossible to get--after all, what use do dwarves have for scholarly arcane literature? It's not like they can do anything with it. That was the argument, anyway. But she found them. And even when she realized that all the terminology in them was foreign, she pressed on. Now look at her--sicker than she's ever been, but on a _ship_. A _real ship_ headed for Rivain where she'll be able to study magic. She'll get to  _see magic_ close up.

Dagna smiles at Grainne. "It'll be worth it. I just know it."

The captain grins at her in return, the shape of it like a knife's edge. "Of course it will be. We'll dock in Llomeryn day after tomorrow, and from there we'll sail the Bay up to Dairsmuid. I'll take you to the Circle there myself. You haven't got any weapons on you, have you?"

She doesn't. At least, not until Grainne presses a little dagger in her hands and shows her the best places to stab if someone tries to take advantage of her wide puppy eyes, as the captain puts it.

"It'll be a little different if you run afoul of one of the Qunari--"

Dagna cuts her off. "There are Qunari in Dairsmuid? Do they have mages at the Circle? Do you think they'd let me ask them about Par Vollen and Koslun and--"

Grainne presses her hand against Dagna's mouth. "I don't have answers for you, there. Just a blade to keep you safe until you're in the mages' hands."

"Oh. Well, that's alright. I'll ask someone when I get there." She pauses and reaches up to adjust the cloth on her forehead. "Thank you for this, Captain."

"It's no problem, pup. No problem at all."

* * *

Rivain smells like nothing she's ever smelled before. It's salt, and sea, and _spices_ , and heat... Some of the scents she thinks she can place from the baskets of stale, dried spice caravans would sometimes bring to Orzammar, but it's so much _more_ than it ever was underground. They walk through a bazaar on their way to the Circle and Grainne has to keep reminding Dagna that they're not there to look at everything. Even if the cloth is so richly colored, and the food all kinds of new, and yes, that's a real live Qunari and it's easily three times the size of Dagna.

She laughs, utterly delighted. "Oh, we haven't even gotten to the Circle and this is already more than I ever dreamed! There's so many things I've never seen on the surface! Do you think I can try a little bit of everything while I'm here? I want to try everything. Even those things that look like spiders on sticks over there. Do you think they'll taste like roasted nug? I hear everything tastes a little like roasted nug."

The captain shakes her head fondly--or at least Dagna hopes it's fondly--and hooks her thumbs in her belt. "I'm sure you'll get the chance. Not right now, though. The Circle's just ahead."

It looks nothing like Kinloch. The caravan she left Orzammar with had passed by the Circle tower in the middle of lake Calenhad on their way to Amaranthine. It had risen up out of the water, tall, imposing, and _cold_ in a way Dagna's not sure she can fully articulate. The Circle in Dairsmuid is as far from that as it's possible to get. Sunlight reflects off it's walls and sheds warmth around the area. A trio of mage girls chase each other around the grass near the front door, little bolts of lightning leaping from their fingertips to tag each other.

When they catch sight of sailor and dwarf, they pause and whisper to one another behind their hands. One girl darts inside the great building and re-emerges a moment later with a woman in tow. She's beautiful, Dagna thinks, with dark hair and dark skin and her head held high.

"I am First Enchanter Rivella," she says, "What can I do for you?"

Before Grainne can make any introductions, Dagna steps forward. "My name is Dagna, daughter of Janar of the smith caste. I came here from Orzammar to study magic, if you'll let me. I can tell you about lyrium smithing in return. And maybe get word back to Orzammar? If there are people who bring messages in that direction. Or bird? I hear there's birds that carry messages, but I haven't seen one yet."

A small smile hides in the corners of Rivella's mouth. "Welcome to the Circle of Magi at Dairsmuid, Dagna, daughter of Janar. Something tells me--" Here the girls behind her giggle almost loud enough to drown her out. "That this is the beginning of something wonderful."

Dagna grins. "You know, I've got the same feeling."


End file.
